Tuesday, July 23, 2013

A post-a-day #2. rearranging the house and the heart


Like my daughter Meghann, I buy plants first, ask questions later. Such as, "where will this possibly go?"  This beautiful baby hydrangea had take-me-home vibes coming off it in waves. I guess it felt the Arrangement of living at Trader Joe's in Center City wasn't working out. It needed a commitment. It proceeded to look at me with its little plaintive pink and green blooms till I couldn't withstand it any longer.
The light out front is right by the textbook (east-facing) so, we'll see. The heat wave last week with temps over 100 degrees required several waterings a day.

Right next to him are my Michigan ferns. So named because Meghann dug up a few for me to bring home. They are also very thirsty. I visit these and the hydrangea every morning first thing. It is nice to have this little piece of Michigan here in the South of Philly.







 I also have this lovely wall sconce, given to me by Meghann, which she took right off her kitchen wall! She has something else in mind for that spot, and she knows of my affinity for wrought iron.

 After taking this picture, I felt it needed to be flanked with a little more color, so I swapped out the picture on the left with this one.





A little blurry, but another nice momento from my last visit with Meghann. We each painted the tree painting at a fun art class that included beer. And for me, sunburn.







Taking away the first picture necessitated putting it elsewhere, so it ended up in my kitchen.


 --which displaced another few things--some went over here--


 which left this one piece out--


Aannnnd--okay! I give up. I stubbed my toe on a chair and hammered a finger. I give! 
*breaking news* no, really, I mean it. The stubbed toe is indeed broken.


One other little fun thing I want to share is my back "yard." It is where I keep all the rest of my growing things and hang up laundry and read and sunbathe.






my "tumbling tom" --from -- you guessed it -- Michigan. Kalamazoo Farmers Market, to be exact.







I keep the little jewels here until we are ready to eat them.

Here is what I look at while sitting out there.

 

 miniature roses
 The little rustic corner that makes a very pleasant vignette. The ivy in the pot is a rescue from an almost dead plant. The "weeds" growing around everything migrated out of the bed. These were also brought home from Michigan last year. (We thought we had dug up tiger lilies). Actually they are called "common-day flowers." Little purple-blue flowers open in the morning and close later. And some basil and a few colors of begonias. A cat gets in there every now and then and uproots the pink begonias. If it so happens that my neighbor is reading this--please stop letting your kitty out to use my little corner of Escape-from-the-city as his potty.


And this is what I look up at and out from under. It is peaceful.

All this adds greatly to my peace of mind and helps me take time out from the goings on of the world.

Along with doing the Marian consecration--








--this one--










 I am reading this.   
My copy is not this fancy


It is not a super quick read, but not difficult either. Just very pithy. I can read and re-read it, and always be taught something new.


Here is where I am in it right now:

"To humble myself I resolve to do such and such things, to suffer such and such humiliations. I desire to change my life and henceforward to follow my Creator and to find honor in the state of being he has given me, employing it entirely in obedience to his will..."


As I have said to Bob many times, the vocation of parenthood affords one the automatic blessing of having built-in humiliations and opportunities for making sacrifices. We are taught daily about how to go beyond ourselves, and if seen as the good that it is, it is a light burden indeed.

The part about finding "honor in the state of being he has given me," has been unusually eye opening. I mean, yes, yes, we all know it is an honor to be a spouse, a parent, a child of God in any vocation--BUT-- to think of where I am, where you are in your life right. this. minute. as something he has given to us. Now that is something to consider.

Anyways, I just barely made it in time to still date this post today!

See you tomorrow!


2 comments:

  1. Your home is very nicely decorated. The way you are with plants, I'm like that with books. I buy and ask questions later. By the way I have the Francis de Sales but have not read it. I do intend to read it but not sure when. That's a perfect Lenten reading, but I've already planned Thomas a Kempis's, "Imitation of Christ" for next Lent. De Sales may have to wait until the following Lent. Sorry to hear about your toe.

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    1. Aw thanks. I once fancied myself going into interior design. So I play at it with my own home.

      I read both the DeSales and the Imitation in an ongoing way. Especially the latter, they don't lend themselves to being read through like other books. I think you'll like both!

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